Stage 1. Soria/Duruelo de la Sierra
106 kilometers. 1,240 meters of elevation gain.
The stage's altitude data borders on a peaceful day of cycling from a medium-level perspective, especially the elevation gain concentrated in the final stretch, between Hontoria del Pinar and Duruelo de la Sierra. The stage can be divided into two days, with the first night's stop in San Leonardo de Yagüe, which has all the necessary amenities. In these bikepacking reports and suggestions, I try to provide information, suggestions, and opinions on optimal routes, routes, and terrain for enjoyable gravel bike travel. However, these data should always be assessed subjectively, allowing each cyclist to establish their own travel style and pace, depending on the tour company, the time of year, their goals, or their personal taste. A beautiful part of traveling is making each experience your own adventure. The milestones are marked, indicating paths, outstanding places, points of interest, or discoveries made by other cycle travelers, but each cyclist must find their own inspiration, and it will always be a unique journey.
The Duero River has been a frontier since the dawn of Iberian civilizations, and Soria a strategic stronghold in a territory of conquest and power. And whenever I begin a bike trip in Soria, I always look for the riverbank to mark the starting point, at the foot of the Parque del Castillo, a natural space with an atmosphere of bygone eras marked by the power of a watercourse around a medieval fortress. A quiet and convenient place to park is the Paseo de San Prudencio parking lot, near the Romanesque chapels that distinguish the city's historical and artistic heritage. Along the riverside paths, there are gardens, recreational areas, kiosks, and inspiring sculptures, and on the opposite bank are the Church of San Polo and the Chapel of San Saturio, two jewels of Soria's Romanesque architecture. And there are also the signposts for the Senda del Duero Nature Trail, where the return route begins. The sign for the start of the Santander-Mediterranean Nature Trail section between Soria and Hontoria del Pinar is next to the train station, in another part of the city. The connection from the banks of the Duero River between the two Nature Trails has no specific signage; it follows the river along the riverside promenade, passes the San Saturio pedestrian bridge, and climbs along the University of Soria bike path to the Carretera de Madrid roundabout. The best route I've found in this area of industrial estates and vacant lots to reach the route of the old Santander railway is to go up Eduardo Saavedra Street to a crossroads where there are some car dealerships, turning left onto Camino del Cañuelo. This is a somewhat winding but effective route for reaching the "ground zero" of the Santander-Mediterranean Nature Trail by bike. The trail is located at the train station exit, with an information panel and the first red signs indicating the crossing points.
And then it's time to pedal toward the forest kingdom of Tierra Pinariega and the Picos de Urbión. The first few kilometers fly by; it's a rural area, the villages are far from the railway, and you simply have to glide along the magnificent gravel surface of the old railway, seeing the remains of the stops, stations, and milestones of the Nature Trail. Ocenilla is a district of Cidones, close to the railway crossing, at the foot of the solitary Cabrejas mountain range. It's easy to cycle to the entrance of the village and see the sculpture of the Warrior of Ocenilla, a striking representation of a Celtiberian warrior found in the drawings of a 3rd-century BC vase, associated with the Numantian culture. The route winds along endless straight stretches alongside the Cabrejas mountain range and enters Tierra Pinariega through the municipalities of Abejar and Cabrejas del Pinar. Some milestones bear the yellow arrows of the Castilian-Aragonese Way of St. James.